Book-holder



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. ASH, OFBROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

BOOK-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION" forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,628, dated April 2, 1889.

Serial No. 266,991. v(N model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. ASH, of

Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Book-Holders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to those book-holders which are intended for holdinga book in open condition and to prevent the leaves from derangement while the book is being used for singing, reading, or in many cases for writing up accounts.

The invention consists in novel features in the construction of the device, which are hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a book held open by my improved device. Fig. 2 represents the device itself upon a larger scale, and constructed so that it may be held at any desired length by twisting together temporarily the wires of which it is composed, said Fig. 2 showing the wires as twisted together. Fig. 3 represents the same device, showing the wires as untwisted or freed from each other, so as to provide for sliding them readily one on the other.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Referring first to Fig. 1, A represents the book-covers, and B the leaves. The purpose of the book-holder which forms the subject of my invention is to extend directly across the back of the book when opened, as shown in Fig. 1, thereby pressing back the cover and holding it open and in substantially fiat condition, and the holder has at opposite ends hooks or claspswhich engage the right and left hand edges 1) of the leaves Band hold said leaves opened out flat, and so that they may be easily read from.

In Fig. 2 I have shown the device upon a larger scale than in Fig. 1 and of a very simple construction. The book holder or device is composed, essentially, of a bar or substantially straight member, 0, which is provided at opposite ends with hooks or with clasps 0. As represented in Figs. 2 and 3, the bar 0 and hooks O are composed of two pieces of wire, 0, which lap one upon the other, and are connected so as to provide for their adj ustbracing the other wire.

ment lengthwise 011 each other to vary the distance between the hooks or clasps O. The end of each piece of wire 0 is bent to form an eye or loop, c',which embraces the other wire. Neither of the members, of the holder can therefore rotate relatively to the other.

In Fig. 3 the pieces of wire c,which lap one on the other, are represented as straight, and there it will be seen that at the inner end of each straight piece of wire 0 is a loop, 0, cm-

The two wires 0 are slipped lengthwise one 011 the other to adjust the length of the holder, so that the hooks C will be at the proper distance apart to engage the edges of the leaves at the right and left hand sides of the book, and then the two wires 0, by taking hold of the hooks C, are twisted one on the other, as shown in Fig. 2, thus causing the two wires to bind or cramp one on the other and to be held in fixed position relatively to each other, so that the device will remain temporarily of the required fixed length to suit the book to which it is to be applied.

Owing to the fact that the two wires 0 forming the device are twisted one upon the other, the hooks C will have atendency to throw or move in opposite directions, the one upward and the other downward, upon the leaves to which they are applied, as is shown in Fig. 1; but this fact is immaterial in the manipulation of the device or the leaves held by it.

- The leaves B are not held with great force by the hooks O, and after perusing one leaf or page it may be withdrawn from one hook O and pressed under the opposite hook, thereby readily turning the leaves.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A book-holder made of wire and oom- 9o posed of two portions having a sliding connection with each other, each of said portions at its outer end being bent into the form of ahook, the connections between the two portions preventing the rotation of the two portions relatively to each other, substantially as specified.

2. A book-holder made of wire and composed of two portions having a sliding connection with each other, the outer ends of each of said portions being bent into the form of a hook, said hooks extending toward each their connections being twisted together and being provided at their outer ends with bent I0 portions forming hooks, substantially as specified.

\VILLIAM H. ASH.

Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, HENRY J. MCBRIDE. 

